What have I been up to?

Frequent readers of this blog will know that I sometimes go awhile without posting. There are periods when I get busy and don’t have time to write (here). So what is it that’s kept me away from blogging this spring and summer? Some pretty cool stuff, actually…

This spring I applied for and was promoted to chair of my department. That won’t officially take effect until August 1, but planning and preparation took a good chunk of my time once the application process was over.

Along those lines, I was chair of a search committee for a tenure-track position in creative writing in our low-res MFA program (and undergrad program). That process took all spring semester, and since we were given the go-ahead to hire a second tenure-track faculty member from the same search, even extended beyond the semester.

Speaking of the MFA program, this spring I was director of 3 theses, 2 of which were defended in June. (1 will continue writing this fall.) This was in addition to my usual class load and an extra short-residency class at AWP.

Besides directing 3 theses, I also served on 3 more thesis committees. That meant I had students who defended their theses in June, so one thing I’ve been doing was reading those amazing book manuscripts. We’re proud of our new MFAs!

Outside of work, this spring was college audition and visit time for our son, so we had extra travel days to take him to prospective schools. We’re extremely happy with his final choice, and the visits to schools he didn’t decide to attend were all part of the decision process.

Besides choosing a college, of course our son also had to work hard to finish his high school career, prepare a senior recital, and play in All-State orchestra and the North Mississippi Youth Symphony. And as proud parents, we wanted to be there for it all, only I had to miss All-State because…

We discovered that our foster puppy had actually not been spayed, when she went into heat. That meant figuring out how to care for her and being at home a little more for a few weeks (no kennel stays for her!), then eventually taking her in to be spayed and staying with her as she recovered. Not labor intensive, but also a little out of the ordinary. Everything went well, and we even found her a permanent home!

As summer approached and once our son had graduated (and family visited for the celebration), I welcomed 15 MFA students to campus for their Full Residency, an intense 9 days of workshops, readings, seminars, and thesis defenses.

Once the residency was over, I joined my wife and son in Lima, Peru, where Kim was helping to lead a study-abroad trip. I got to join them as they journeyed to Machu Picchu and Lake Titicaca, and we stayed behind in Lima for a week on our own. All-in-all, a magical experience.

After a few days back in the US, we traveled again to Iowa to see my mother, my niece, and her family (including her 2-month-old). That was a relaxing time, filled with family, good food, celebrations (it was July 4, after all), and World Cup soccer viewing.

Now that we are back and it is summer, I’m hoping to find a little more time and a few things to write about to revive this blog. Though serving as chair will mean I’ll likely stay very busy in the fall, I hope it will also give me plenty of ideas to write about. And I’m hoping to find a few spare moments here and there to work on the blog. Let’s see how I do with that! Certainly, I can make some time this summer, and maybe come back wtih more details on a few of the things mentioned above.